Before you design that t-shirt, it is necessary to know which printing method you are going to apply. Although the heat press and screen printing are deemed to be the most common and famous methods of printing these days, this article will delineate more methods. It is very crucial if you want the sales to boost continually. Customers will stop approaching you if they do not get what they want.
Customers are now smarter than before, they are aware of the printing methods. If you have been a long time in this business, you will notice that a few customers have a certain favorite printing method. But if you are a newbie, you need to test these various methods to know what is attractive to them.
Many customers are prone to complain about the order they received because it is not in alignment with their tastes and preferences. This is the last thing anyone would want, hence it is important to be acquainted with these methods. Read on.
- Screen Printing (aka silkscreen printing)
This is one of the most common printing methods. In this method, you will need a stencil and a nylon mesh. You install the stencil which is supported by nylon mesh. A water-resistant material will block the negative space that you want to design. The negative space is the only part accessible for the dye. Then the ink is flooded into the screen.
This method is ideal for printing high-quality t-shirt designs as it assures replication of the design. This is ideally used for mass production for the t-shirts and not for producing a single or a unique t-shirt design. This method is suited for one color per screen and not for super-complex multi-color designs.
It works like a paper printer in the office. The only difference is that the ink goes into the fabric. Firstly, upload the design to the computer. This is an excellent method to print out super-complex design. The ink used doesn't create any extra thick layers on the shirt as it is thin. But you might end up with a low res design with dot patterns if you have an inferior textile printer.
This method is suitable for printing polyester like cream fabrics and not cotton fabric. This method uses a special type of dye which is liquid. The liquid dries up when it meshed with the polyester fabric. When dried well, it becomes solid on the fabric, then you can apply heat and pressure for sublimation to happen. When the fabric is subjected to heat and pressure, it turns into gas. Eventually, the molecules contracts again when you remove the heat.
When you do not have a mass order for t-shirt printing, this method is suitable. It saves you resources and time. In this method, a special paper called transfer paper is used. A shirt is pressed on the heat transfer vinyl and heat and pressure is applied to it. This process is done until the heat softens the dye on the paper and gets beneath a cloth. Then, take the transfer paper and strip off the dye to get the design on the fabric.
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